I’m writing this the morning of my father’s passing.  I wanted to use this as a part of my own process of grief.  And I will post it immediately.

Most of you know my father has not been well.  He suffered a heart attack over seven years ago, and most of the doctors he saw told him he was a high risk and would not do any surgery.  He also did not want to do anything invasive.  He walked around for the past seven years with 30% of his heart working.  During the last years he worked through some issues he’s had his whole life and seemed to process a lot of his own grief.  About three months ago he found a doctor at the VA Hospital in Florida that seemed to give him hope;  that bypass surgery would give him a better quality of life.  I remember the call from my father after he spoke with this surgeon.  He really made a “connection” with him.  And he was going to go ahead with the surgery. 

The doctor advised him to get a flu shot.  My father has never believed in the flu shot and I don’t think he has ever gotten one.  But he did, and he got the flu.  A very bad case of the flu.  He was in the hospital for a bit during this time and he wasn’t interested in eating and he was having trouble with his kidneys.  I believe now, that his body was starting to shut down.  Please know that none of my brothers and sisters (there are 9 of us), could convince him not to have the surgery.  After he recovered from the flu, the surgery was scheduled very fast.  I was with him and my mom during this time.

Why am I writing this?  Because you know I’m all about “feeling the feelings“.  My dad ate healthy and was very physically fit.  His heart was not healed though.  And eventually his heart could not handle the stress of the emotion he had, but was not taking the time to feel.  After the surgery, he seemed to be getting better.  Right on track.  However the doctors told him although the arteries were now good, his heart was not functioning any better.  Prior to the surgery, his heart was operating at 13%.  That was very hard for him to hear and at that time, only two days after surgery, he started his decline.  On the third night, he was given something to help him sleep.  That med made him anxious and he was given something to help with the anxiety.  That didn’t help and he was subsequently given three more meds.  He became psychotic and it took many days to turn that around.  Now it’s over a week and he is still in ICU.  His lungs had fluid and his kidneys were suffering.  He was finally transferred out of ICU and as the doctor was taking out his stitches, he told my dad that he should be swinging a softball bat in two months or so. 

That didn’t happen.  He was again given the wrong meds one night that set him back.  During his time in ICU, he spoke with me about the pain he felt about not being there for his kids.  About this part of him that he kept hidden from everyone.  I tried, and so did my brother, to help him forgive himself.  But these emotions, the ones he ran from his whole life, where finally catching up with him.  And sitting in a hospital for two months didn’t help that.  Yes, he had psychiatrists come in, priests come in, therapists come in.  But his mind wouldn’t let go and his body was continuing to let go.  He was tired of holding on.

He was transferred to another VA closer to my mom.  One week actually going into the rehab portion of the hospital, but that was short lived.  His body could not process the fluids because his heart was not functioning.  After a conversation with the doctor (I still don’t know what was said.  I can only imagine), he made the choice to move to a Hospice Facility.  This was last week.  After a few days there, his body started shutting down.  He stopped eating and everything started to swell with fluid.   Another doctor came in a couple of days ago and stated that “he should have never had the surgery”.  The doctors convinced my mom to go home last night, that this is what patients need to let go.  And let go he did.  Peacefully, in the middle of the night. 

Has the grieving started?  For me it started years ago.  Grieving for the life I thought I was going to have.  I’ve made my peace with my parents.  I’ve thanked them for making me who I am today.  I’ve tried to help them through their own grief.  But each of us processes this differently.  We all have different filters.  Did they accept my process and believe me when I said I’d forgiven them?  I doubt it.  That’s the sad part.  Most of the time we grieve only for ourselves.  This process is for us, not for those around us.

All this talk of 2012…has anyone seen the movie yet?  What’s it about?  My belief is it’s about making peace with yourself, your loved ones, your friends.  Our earth can only hold so much negative emotion.  Do your work.  The denial, the blame, the guilt and the anger, don’t work anymore.  We need to heal as a planet. 

Is today the day you will make that appointment with your therapist?  Today the day you will hug your child and not put your expectations on them?  Is today the day you will start that yoga or meditation class or start eating healthier?  Will you grieve today?  Will you cry for the pain, for the life you thought you were going to live?  Will you let go of all you are holding onto?  All that is making you unhealthy?  I pray you do not wait. 

I wish you peace during this season and always.  Thank you for your prayers and thoughts.

The American Dietetic Association recommends 25 grams of fiber daily for women and 38 grams for men.  Most of us are only getting 15 grams of fiber a day.  The World Health Organization extimates cardiovascular disease causes approximately 17.5 million deaths per year world-wide.  A vegetarian or living food lifestyle will greatly lower your incidence of heart disease than it will for meat eaters.  Saturated animal fats raise cholesterol levels and clog arteries.  Eating a well balanced vegetarian diet will give your body the heart-healthy nutrients it needs.  Foods like fruit, veggies, and whole grains are easy and fun to prepare and eat. 

These six food compounds can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease: Soluble fiber, Potassium, Carotenoids, Omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins and Flavonoids. 

Soluble fiber combines with water in your GI tract to absorb cholesterol and stop it from being distributed through your body.  It will also push it out of you.  We all know how great fiber is for elimination, right?  Sometimes called roughage, fiber is the indigestable portion of plant food.  Wikipedia says, “Soluble fiber, like all fiber, cannot be digested.  But is does change as it passes through the digestive tract, being transformed (fermented) by bacteria there.  Soluble fiber also absorbs water to become a gelatinous substance that passes through the body”.   What foods are fiber filled?  Whole grains like oats, barley, and pinto beans, potatoes, brussel sprouts and fruits like apples, plums and oranges are good sources of soluble fiber, whereas 100% bran cereal has more insoluble fiber.  Insoluble fiber will pass through the body unchanged.

Potassium is associated with lowering blood pressure levels.  It counters the effect of excess sodium and aids in transmitting nerve impulses and promotes normal muscle function.  Both effective for optimal heart and blood vessel health.  Foods like potatoes, bananas, dark leafy greens, pumpkin seed, avocado and almonds are high in potassium.  Potassium deficiency can lead to high blood pressure problems, hypertension, strokes, and heart irregularities.  Meat, poultry and fish are high in potassium, but it’s not healthy to eat an entirely carnivorous diet.  These foods will cause a rise in acid levels and deplete potassium levels.  Instead of supplements, try a slice of cantaloupe, a banana or strawberries. 

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential fatty acids that play a key role in heart health.  These are a class of polyunsaturated fats.  They cannot be manufactured by the body so must be obtained from food.  They contain molecules that will ward off blood clots that can trigger stroke and heart attacks.  Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and prevent risk factors associated with chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and arthritis.  You can find Omega-3 fatty acids in flaxseed, flaxseed oil, walnuts, soy, and baby dark leafy greens like watercress and arugula.

Low blood levels of B vitamins and folic acid have been found to increase the risk of atherosclerosis, which can lead to heart attacks and stroke.  Atherosclerosis is a condition in which fatty material collects along the walls of the arteries.  Some sources of B vitamins are fortified breakfast cereals, sunflower seeds, potatoes, broccoli and asparagus.

Flavonoids have antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties that protect you against heart disease.  They keep the lining of the arteries flexible which will promote healthy blood flow and reduce clotting.  Catechin is a flavonoid compound found in tea and cocoa and it can reduce heart disease.  It’s found in dark chocolate, green tea, red wine, extra virgin olive oil and apples.  Soy flavonoids (isoflavones) can also reduce blood cholesterol and can help to prevent osteoporis. 

Carotenoids have fat solubility and antioxidant properties.  These plant chemicals are a big factor in fighting heart disease. and give fruits and veggies their yellow, red and orange colors, not to mention the green in plants.  There is evidence they interact with bad LDL cholesterol and prevent if from oxidizing and sticking to the artery walls.  Food sources of carotenoids are carrots, spinach, kale, collard greens, red peppers and tomatoes.  However, to maximize the availability of these carotenoids in your food, they should be eaten raw or lightly steamed.

And please….don’t forget your emotional heart.  Feeling emotionally healthy is just as important.  Get in touch with your physical and emotional body.  Yoga, meditation, chi gong…all great ways to start “feeling”.  Releasing all the “baggage” will detox your blood as well as your muscles. 

Breathe, breathe and breathe again.  Keep going……

I’ve mentioned many times in this venue how raw, living food is what will allow the body to heal.  Not cooking your food keeps enzymes, oxygen and water content in your food, and therefore making it better able for your body to absorb.  Heating destroys nutrients and your food’s enzymes.  Heating also destroys water soluble vitamins like vitamin C and all the B vitamins.  I still eat a small amount of cooked food, but it just doesn’t taste the same anymore.  I’m eating more vegan food as well as high raw foods.  The past couple of weeks, since I’ve been moving around a lot, I’ve had a cucumber for breakfast almost every day. I know vegetables for breakfast?  Yes, and you can too.  It’s all about changing your patterns.  Fresh organic produce has been easy to find these days.  I am in the Adirondacks in New York State taking advantage of the local farmers markets every week. 

If you want to get good at anything, you have to focus, learn and invest some time in learning how it works, right?  Everyone needs to learn about taking care of their body because everyone has a body.  In addtion to your “day job”, you need to make the time to learn the basics of taking care of your body.  The reason we believe what the drug companies, media, agricultural and food and beverage companies have to say is because we are nutritionally ignorant.  So let’s learn a little bit more about the food we cook on a daily basis.

When you cook food on a grill, stove top, oven, camp fire or a microwave, you are changing the molecular structure of the food and change the nutritional content and digestibility.  This structure becomes denatured, deranged and degraded, and the molecules are changed into new chemical configurations and carcinogenic byproducts are formed, thereby promoting a broad spectrum of allergies, infections and degenerative diseases..  Certainly the degree to which this happens depends on the cooking time, temperature and method of cooking.  Heating food above 105-120 degrees F, destroys all enzymes and lowers the concentration of vitamins and minerals.  You body can produce the enzymes necessary for digestion and absorption of food, however this process requires a great deal of energy that would otherwise be used for  the process of elimination, fighting disease, and allowing you to function at an optimal physical and mental level. 

In cooked foods, fats are carcinogenized, carbs are caramelized, and proteins are coagulated and become virtually unusable by the body and fiber becomes barely usable in the colon.  Heating food also creates toxic byproducts.  Here’s a few of these dangerous byproducts:

Acrylamides:  Cancer causing byproducts of cooking carbohydrate food such as breads, potatoes, pastries and any other kinds of starch.  The FDA acknowledges on their website the perils of acrylamides, but the processed and fast food industry would rather you don’t know about these.

Epoxides, Hydroperoxides, unsaturated aldehydes:  These three are generated when you cook the fat from meat, milk, eggs and fish.  From Wikipedia, “An epoxide is a cyclic ether.”  The rest of the definition on Wikipedia was not even understandable to me.

Furfural/furans: generated when sugars are heated.  Wikipedia states, “Except for occasional use in perfume, furfural remained a relatively obscure chemical until 1922, when the Quaker Oats Company began mass-producing it from oat hulls….When heated above 250 degrees, furfural decomposes into furan and carbon monoxide, sometimes explosively… Furfural is also used as a solvent in petrochemical refining….” 

Nitrosamines:  When nitrogen oxides in the gas flame from gas ovens or barbecues interact with fats, these toxins are created.  Nitrosamines are chemical compounds of a chemical structure, some of which are carcinogenic.

Polycyclic Hydrocarbons:  These carcinogens are generated from the charring of meat. From Wikipedia,  ”PAHs occur in oil, coal and tar deposits, and are produced as byproducts of fuel burning….as a pollutant, they are of concern because some compounds have been identified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic….PAHs are also found in foods.  Studies have shown that most food intake of PAHs comes from cereals, oils and fats.  Smaller intakes come from vegetables and cooked meats.”

Hydrogenated oils and Trans fats:  These are man-made.  They are also called hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats and were specifically developed to allow processed foods to sit on the shelf longer without going rancid.  Many of today’s common foods are now cooked in these trans fats.  Consuming these fats can lead to obesity, heart disease, an increase in bad cholesterol and lowering of the good.  Also keep in mind when you heat common cooking oils, the heat denatures the oil molecule and causes the oil to turn rancid.

Are you still asking yourself what happens to you if you eat cooked foods?  Digestive leukocytes is a term that refering to when your body produces an increase of white blood cells, indicating the body is on the attack.  This response also happens when you eat cooked food.  However it does not happen when you eat raw foods.   A build up of toxic, acidic waste materials, often referred to as “free radicals”, accumulates in the skin, liver, nervous system and brain when you consume large amounts of cooked food.  When you don’t get the proper nutrients in your diet, your white blood cells are always on the attack mode.  Toxic waste are circulating in your weak and overworked body, allowing it to breed common ailments such as allergies, headaches, sinusitis, diabetes, heart disease, erectile dysfunction, depression, arthritis, osteoporosis, and various cancers will thrive.  Unfriendly flora build-up is also a byproduct of cooked foods.  Unfriendly bacteria take over the colon, feeding on thick, undigested and uneliminated cooked food putrefying in the intestines.  This flora will give off a waste product that is a food for cancer cells.  Eating a plant based uncooked diet will decrease the toxic load on the colon and will also decrease unfriendly bacteria and its dangerous byproducts.

Not cooking your food will have the following benefits: Weight stabilization, increased energy, more restful sleep, radiant skin, enhanced mental clarity, increased immune function and prevention of illness.  You don’t need to eliminate all cooked food from your diet to have these benefits.  How about just substituting one meal a day with raw food for starters?  Or if you are already doing that, how about increasing to one day a week eating nothing but uncooked food?  Most people believe lunch or dinner is their best bet for raw.  Large salads with every veggie in the fridge, juicing a meal or sandwiches with sprouted grain bread (these breads are usually available in the frozen section.  They are baked at low temperatures to retain the nutritional content of their ingredients). Top your sandwich with all raw ingredients, like veggies and sprouts.  It doesn’t have to be fancy, just make it colorful.

Be proactive about your own health.  Stay informed.  It’s your job.

As always, consult your primary physician if you have questions regarding your specific circumstances.

Yeah, yeah.  I know it’s “cretin”.  But I’ll use any gimmick I can to get you to read on.  Even shameless hacking of my beloved Ramones.  Why?  Because instead of a lobotomy, shock treatment, or other sedation I want you to be happy, healthy and divinely aware.  And I bet Joey, may he rest in peace, would now agree with me.

So what we’re talking about here is the Mediterranean diet.  Yeah, you’ve been hearing about it since the 60’s but there’s a reason; it’s great for you.  The discovery of the Mediterranean Diet was actually the byproduct of a seven country wide study on diet and disease patterns throughout the world which also established the connection between saturated fat and heart disease.

So now we’re narrowing down to our great Greek islander’s.  During the course of the study it was discovered that some of the longest life spans and lowest rates of heart disease were found in the people of Crete.  Later studies confirmed that Cretans also had much lower rates of cancer as well as type 2 diabetes.

Now they call it the Mediterranean Diet but it’s really the whole lifestyle because in addition to the way they ate (which hadn’t changed much since ancient times), the hardy people of Crete, mainly farmers, got loads of physical activity.  But what about their diet?  Delicious meals full of vegetables and fruits, abundant in beans and fish, and almost devoid of red meat and processed foods, the Cretans regularly took in high amounts of fat—40 percent of their daily calories—but most of it came from olive oil; their average saturated-fat intake was among the world’s lowest.  And this diet has stood the clinical test as well.  Huge studies have shown that when people are put on a Mediterranean eating program, they tend to live longer and have lower rates of heart disease and some cancers.

So how do you do the Cretan hop?  Eat more whole foods and fewer processed foods; use unsaturated fats, particularly monounsaturated fats like olive oil, for cooking and flavoring foods, and for salad dressings; eat an abundance of vegetables, especially leafy greens, every day; eat more servings of fruits, grains and legumes than animal-based foods, and include low-fat or fat-free dairy products; serve beans and fish as your main protein sources; make small amounts of meat an occasional treat, rather than a daily staple; and enjoy nuts, such as almonds, peanuts and walnuts, regularly, in moderate amounts.

Remember, “All good Cretans go to heaven” (Ok I’ve taken this one too far.)

Be well,

JuicyJosh

What’s the latest, greatest, most super fantabulous little compound to hit the scene of our knowledge with a bang?…  PHYTOCHEMICALS.  Haven’t seen those listed in your daily multiple vitamins have you?  Why?  Because no one yet knows just how much of this stuff your body needs everyday—but what is certain is that need them your body does. (I sound like Yoda)  In fact some research indicates that a diet rich in whole foods, which is naturally high in phytochemicals, can prevent and in some cases even cure Cancer, Heart Disease, High blood pressure, Diabetes, and Autism.

So what are they?  Flavonoids, lutien, and lycopene are a few phytochemicals you may have heard of.   “Phyto” derives from the Greek word for plant. So Phytochemicals are plant-derived chemical compounds found in fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, soy, herbs, seeds, and green tea to name a few.  These little guys are controversial now because many scientists believe that although they seem to have major health benefits they are not considered an essential nutrient in the human diet (If you can make sense of that logic email me).

Phytochemicals act as antioxidants and when they come in contact with your cells they initiate a process known as Phase 2 Enzyme which fuels the cells to fight off cancer.  Some phytochemicals are structurally almost identical to insulin which helps to remedy type 1 & 2 Diabetes while other phytochemicals help scrub the bodies arteries clean of plaque & cholesterol reducing the risk of heart disease and lowering blood pressure.  It has even been shown that certain phytochemicals can assist children and adults with Autism.

What’s important here is that for the most part you can’t get this stuff in a supplement.  You must EAT them in food.  1 Apple contains over 385 phytochemicals which cannot be duplicated in any supplement I’m aware of.  And here’s another tidbit my boss might not like; because phytochemicals are found mostly in the fiber of fruits and vegetables, you can’t really get enough of them from juicing.  So how do I keep my job and maintain my integrity to you?  That’s easy.  BLEND BABY!

Be well,

Juicy Josh

Gotta love that Monty Python ($5 off any purchase at 877myjuicer.com if you guess the movie).    And who’d have thought that their little “Find the Fish” game could be a life saving exercise in our real daily lives.  What’s it’s really all about is Omega-3.  I know you’re thinking that sounds like a character in the new Transformers movie but in fact Omega-3’s are an essential fatty acid found in fish.  A recent study from Harvard University, compiling two decades of research, concluded that one or two servings of fatty rich fishy fish, like salmon or tuna, can reap health benefits so great that they outweigh even the risks of environmental contaminants in fish like PCBs or mercury.

The study finds that a modest weekly consumption of fish can reduce the risk of death from heart disease by 36 % and will reduce overall deaths by 17%.  What happens is that these wonderful fatty acids make the membranes throughout our body—including those in our heart and blood vessels—more elastic causing blood to flow more easily.  This reduces the risks of high blood pressure and blood clots and fights inflammation preventing the hardening of arteries, stroke and lowering the risk of an irregular heart rate.

There are several kinds of Omega-3’s, many of which can be found in plant foods like flaxseed, soybeans, canola and walnuts but the Omega-3’s essential for heart health—eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA—can only be processed correctly if they come from fish and fish-oil supplements.

Now don’t overdo it.  There’s always too much of a good thing.  Ingesting over 3000 mg a day of Omega-3s can raise the risk of excessive bleeding or even cause a hemorrhagic stroke. And obviously, fat is fat even if it’s fishy so you can still become a fatty.  Instead of adding to your diet I suggest you substitute.  Stay balanced, stay healthy and remember to FIND THE FISH.

Be well,

Juicy Josh

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